Tanshinone I attenuates fibrosis in fibrotic kidneys through down-regulation of inhibin beta-A

BACKGROUND: Tanshinone I (Tan-I), an ingredient of Salvia miltiorrhiza, displays protective effects in several disease models. We aim to study the effect of Tan-I on renal fibrosis and explore its underlining mechanism. METHODS: Rat renal fibroblasts (NRK-49F) were used as an in vitro model to study the effect of Tan-I. Mouse renal fibrosis model was induced by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) or peritoneally injection of aristolochic acid I (AAI). RESULTS: We found that Tan-I dose-dependently inhibited the expression of pro-fibrotic markers in rat renal fibroblasts. Masson staining and Western blotting analysis showed that Tan-I treatment attenuated renal fibrosis in UUO or AAI induced fibrotic kidneys. RNA sequencing analysis identified inhibin beta-A (INHBA), a ligand of TGF-β superfamily, as a downstream target of Tan-I in fibrotic kidneys, which were further verified by qPCR. Western blotting analysis showed that INHBA is up-regulated in UUO or AAI induced fibrotic kidneys and Tan-I reduced the expression of INHBA in fibrotic kidneys. Inhibition of INHBA by Tan-I was further confirmed in rat fibroblasts. Moreover, knockdown of INHBA reduced the expression of pro-fibrotic markers and abolished the ani-fibrotic effect of Tan-I in rat renal fibroblasts. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that Tan-I attenuates fibrosis in fibrotic kidneys through inhibition of INHBA. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12906-022-03592-3.